Browse for deer
- Thread starter *Hawaii5joe*
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BJE80
Guest
Cool. I'm doing that too. Have 375 Norways and 125 Black Spuce on order in 4a's
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BJE80
Guest
Who on here is going to help me?
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
;)If stu's old a$$ can do 500 plugs in a day, you will be fine. :eek:Sorry stu, not that you are much older than me and far younger than some others on here, but I had to say it!:oops::D
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BJE80
Guest
Hahahahaa. Good thing I didn't have coffee in my mouth at the time.
I'm not worried about getting them in the ground. I'm worried about the maintenance. Sorry if I'm hjacking H Joe. Luckily I already have the right tool for the work.
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BJE80
Guest
I had a nursery suggest one of these Herbi sprayers for spraying between trees. Expensive but might save a lot of work?
http://www.gemplers.com/product/H1350/Herbi-Herbicide-Sprayer
http://www.gemplers.com/product/H1350/Herbi-Herbicide-Sprayer
*Hawaii5joe*
5 year old buck +
How big are you doing? 1 acre or so?
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BJE80
Guest
1.5 acres
Art's suggestion to use brush around the seedlings is a good one. It's not perfect, but it's cheaper and easier than trying to cage 500 trees.
The deer on my land really like red osier dogwood and ninebark - I'd definitely recommend planting them if you have the room. But in a clear cut they'll have a really tough time competing long term against trees, so maintenance will be an issue. It's pretty rare to see a natural shrub thicket dominate an area for a long time because eventually trees take over. But I guess you could help out your shrub thicket with some mid-winter hinge cutting of nearby trees which will also give your deer some additional browse.
The deer on my land really like red osier dogwood and ninebark - I'd definitely recommend planting them if you have the room. But in a clear cut they'll have a really tough time competing long term against trees, so maintenance will be an issue. It's pretty rare to see a natural shrub thicket dominate an area for a long time because eventually trees take over. But I guess you could help out your shrub thicket with some mid-winter hinge cutting of nearby trees which will also give your deer some additional browse.
chummer
5 year old buck +
I have been lining my plots with silky dogwood and Midwest crabapples. I planted them in 2' tubes spring of 2014, and took the tubes off this summer. The silkys push out new growth very fast as they are browsed and the crabs are holding their own as well. Eventually I want walls of browse surrounding the plots.
Here is a silky dogwood. This was a barefoot from MDC
Here is a Midwest crab from cold stream. It was smaller than a pencil when planted spring 2014. I have taken the tubes off and they have been browsed but holding there own. They should really take off next year.
Here is a silky dogwood. This was a barefoot from MDC
Here is a Midwest crab from cold stream. It was smaller than a pencil when planted spring 2014. I have taken the tubes off and they have been browsed but holding there own. They should really take off next year.
SD51555
5 year old buck +
Unless you've got epic deer numbers, I'd just try a higher quantity vs protection. You could probably get an extra 40 RODs for what a cage set up would cost you in time and money. I still haven't gotten a chance to assess last years planting, but last I looked, my ROD was coming along great.
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bat man
Guest
I am a busy tree cutter for browse. Works every time. Tree planting works some times. Tree cutting works every time.
chummer
5 year old buck +
I have had great luck with their dogwoods. I had button bush and pines that all died the first winter.
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
Bur, do you remember which of the Morse oak selections you have planted there? Any thoughts on why they are not thriving? Too much shade maybe?
sandbur
5 year old buck +
i might be able to find the order.
Why are they not thriving? Maybe I have the wrong soil type. Maybe I believed all of the hype.
They are not as winter hardy as claimed and die back about every third or fourth year.
I view them as a total waste of time and money.
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
I was just wondering if they were a true hybrid crossed oak like a Schuette's oak or Bebb's oak or just one of the "named" Morse "selections" of a standard oak species that they try to pass of as something special.:rolleyes: Just another shining example that proves that provenance of seed is a big deal and does matter when it comes to selecting hardy nursery stock for planting in the north. Morse being in MI should give you hardy enough stock, but given they are just east of the southern tip of Lake Michigan, they likely have a microclimate that is far warmer than areas to the west of the Great Lakes that are at the same general latitude.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I was advised by foresters here that cutting big aspens on a rotating basis will provide a lasting supply of cover and browse. They told me aspen shoots sprout from the root systems of cut trees and can produce thousands of stems/acre.
I saw evidence of this years ago on state land that had a timber sale. Several 5 acre cuts were made in an area of big aspens and oaks. Mature trees ( oaks, pines and hemlocks ) were left stand between the cuts. The aspen regrowth was unreal !!! From 300 yds. away it looked like HAIR !! The deer moved in that area like flies. Excellent hunting for about 15 years in that location. I was too young back then to know the reason the aspen came in so thick. I think you guys that mentioned cutting aspens are dead-on.
I saw evidence of this years ago on state land that had a timber sale. Several 5 acre cuts were made in an area of big aspens and oaks. Mature trees ( oaks, pines and hemlocks ) were left stand between the cuts. The aspen regrowth was unreal !!! From 300 yds. away it looked like HAIR !! The deer moved in that area like flies. Excellent hunting for about 15 years in that location. I was too young back then to know the reason the aspen came in so thick. I think you guys that mentioned cutting aspens are dead-on.
